Monday, April 25, 2016

24 April 2016 - ENCS

About Acts chapter five, Pastor Joshua Harris did share with us today
The story and its interpretation are somewhat controversial, he did say

A Levite named Barnabas sold his property at the end of chapter four
He brought all of the money to the apostles, to share among the poor
Ananias also sold some property, per chapter five verses one and two
But he did not give it all to the apostles, unlike what Barnabas did do

Peter rebuked him for misleading the Holy Spirit and God, per verse five
Ananias immediately fell down and died, scaring those who were still alive
The closer one is to God, the harsher the consequences Josh did say
If a person's behaviour is errant or if God’s word they somehow disobey

Three hours later Ananias’ wife Sapphira lied to Peter about the price
He rebuked her and she dropped dead - unlikely headed to paradise
Great fear gripped the church and those who heard, per verse eleven
Highlighting the judgement of man pales versus the judgement of heaven

The apostles performed miraculous wonders, per verses twelve to sixteen
Many people were added to their number and many healings were seen
Josh reminded us that with ten thousand people in our life we will interact
So our life’s words and actions can make a large difference, that is a fact

By conforming to Christ’s image, we can each be carriers of God’s light
When we are most desperate and on our knees, God shows His might
Per John chapter fifteen, the Lord prunes us in order to help us grow
He gives us talents, gifts, and the Spirit to help others, friend and foe

The jealous Pharisees then arrested the apostles, per verse seventeen
Angels let them out of jail and at the temple the apostles were again seen
They were arrested again and the high priest told them not to preach
But Peter once again said that the gospel to the masses had to reach

Gamaliel urged the council not to kill the apostles, per verse thirty eight
Implying that doing so had no upside but on the downside, a bad fate
For if God was behind the apostles’ plan, nothing would thwart them
Beyond knowing God intellectually, we must know Jesus of Bethlehem

The apostles were nonetheless beaten, but this caused them to celebrate
As it showed they were worthy of suffering as Jesus’ word they did propagate
So they kept preaching and sharing the gospel, per the Great Commission
And nothing on this earth could prevent them from finishing this mission

Monday, April 18, 2016

17 April 2016 - ENCS

Continuing the series on Acts, Calvin Hong spoke on chapter four
He talked about “power, transformation, boldness” and even more
When the high priests heard something different had taken place
They quickly decided they had to get involved and show their face
After the healing, five thousand believers heard and were blessed
Per verse three, Peter and John the priests and guards did arrest
The Pharisees and Sadducees interrogated them the very next day
But Peter and John demonstrated true boldness, Calvin did say
They said that, in Jesus’ name, they had merely done a good deed
Per verse nine, they had helped the cripple who was clearly in need
The priests saw this boldness and could not put up any opposition
Because the Spirit brings about transformative words and action
The twelve disciples were not strong in faith, in Luke we were told
But after the Spirit came in Acts chapter two, they became very bold
Peter was reckless and denied Jesus thrice in one fateful night
But after being transformed, he became salt as well as a light
Every believer requires boldness in the face of unique adversity
Jesus faced adversity too so He sent us the Holy Spirit for free

The priests told them to be quiet about Jesus, per verse eighteen
But Peter and John had to share what they had heard and seen
Daniel and his friends were similarly bold with the Babylonian king
Despite threats, they refused to bow down to any mere earthling
In the same way, when we receive Jesus it changes our heart
And that enables us to be bold as we each do our unique part

When Peter and John returned to the rest, per verse twenty nine
The Holy Spirit filled the room and men, all the way down the line
All the disciples went and spoke the word of God with boldness
The Holy Spirit can likewise help us in situations filled with stress
We should know that boldness comes when we exercise our faith
Christians must act and speak consistently, Calvin did then sayeth

Monday, April 11, 2016

10 April 2016 - ENCS

Nate Curtis spoke about Acts chapter three, part of a historical narrative
The full book is focused on the Holy Spirit and how the apostles did live
In terms of world evangelism, it is clear that the church continued to grow
As chapters six, nine, twelve, sixteen, nineteen, and twenty eight show

The title of Nate’s sermon - and the entire service - was “Power to Heal”
Peter instructed the cripple to walk where before he could not even kneel
Peter refused to take any credit, as he had merely invoked Jesus’ name
Every time a miracle occurred, the disciples' responses were the same

Peter reminded the people of what they did to Jesus, who was heaven sent
He continued in strong words, instructing the people to immediately repent
This message was seemingly delivered every time Peter had an opportunity
We should do the same, for per Acts one it is every follower’s responsibility

Returning to the concept of healing by God, it is true that He will intervene
Yesterday, today, tomorrow, into real lives and stories real healing is seen
And when we hear about such heavenly healings that are obviously great
We should share the testimony with many others and of course celebrate

Nate pointed out that Peter was not well-educated or seemingly qualified
On Jesus' last night, his relationship with Jesus Peter three times denied
Yet because he believed in Jesus, Peter could invoke his healing power
Similarly, our God can use us to fulfil His plan on any given day or hour

Throughout the Bible, God used people with all sorts of sordid backgrounds
Such as  Rahab the prostitute and David whose sin at times knew no bounds
He can therefore use any of us to take the gospel to the ends of the earth
As such, it is important to remember that each of us has significant worth

But Nate then asked whether our relationship with Jesus is evident to others
Or whether we keep it hidden except from our Christian sisters and brothers
For if we want to help others by invoking Jesus’ name to heal any malady
Our love for Christ and our faith must be visible for everyone else to see

Saturday, April 9, 2016

3 April 2016 - ENCS

Jesus told His disciples, per Acts chapter one verses four and five
That they should not leave Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit did arrive
The disciples were confused, as their words made clear in verse six
As they still expected an earthly kingdom Jesus to return to and fix

Jesus told the disciples that only God knew the timing, per verse seven
And they would receive power from the Holy Spirit coming from heaven
For without that Spirit, in our own strength we can not God fully serve
But upon receiving the Spirit, we can handle any challenge or curve

Angels came to the disciples after Jesus was taken back up to heaven
To remind the disciples what they should do, according to verse eleven
As a result of this message, all the disciples were together in one accord
For the power of the words from the angels were too strong to be ignored

At the start of Acts chapter two, before all of the disciples’ hope was lost
The Holy Spirit then came into their presence on the day called Pentecost
Fire appeared to each one of them and in tongues they all began to speak
This was a sign of God’s power, which allows us to be witnesses not meek

Devout men from other nations heard the disciples speaking their dialect
According to verses five to thirteen, this empowerment was only one aspect
Of course, these actions and tongues led some of the others to mock
That is a reminder that there is a cost to being a disciple in Jesus’ flock 

The uneducated Peter then stood up and to the book of Joel did refer
God had planned and communicated this event, that was easy to infer
Peter also referenced David’s words, in verses twenty two to twenty eight
Which should remind us of God’s power and planning which are so great

From verse thirty six onwards, Peter then delivered the strongest part
That the listeners has effectively crucified Jesus, this cut to their heart
He instructed them to repent and be baptised, for their sins’ forgiveness
This offer is open to all of us, to escape this generation’s sinful mess